Rain, Rain Go Away! Indoor Activities for Kids!

Spring is finally here! It’s one of my favorite times of the year, all the flowers are blooming and trees are beginning to grow their leaves again! Spring’s arrival also brings endless days of rain. On those rainy days, it can be hard to find fun activities that are engaging and not too repetitive. Here are a few of our favorites!

Home Made Play Dough!

I like to use this recipe from Mommyfootprint! It’s quick and easy. Sometimes I add a little texture to the dough with a few tablespoons of coffee grounds or some rolled oats.

Indoor Treasure Hunt!

What better to keep the kids busy for hours than an indoor scavenger hunt! Sometimes I hide objects for my little one to find; other times I make a list of a few items my daughter can find around the house, but will have to hunt a little bit to find. The Scrap Shoppe blog has printable indoor scavenger hunt boards that are great!  

Bake cookies!

Nothing cures rainy day blues like cookies! If I have a long day ahead of me, we make sugar cookies and then decorate them when they’ve cooled! It takes plenty of time!

Have a Tea Party!

Whether we’re drinking tea, juice or cocoa a tea party is a fun indoor activity! Sometimes we make simple chicken or egg salad sandwiches in cute shapes by using cookie cutters. My little one loves to have her favorite baby doll join us for the tea party too!

  

For more inspiration for indoor activities for kids, be sure to check out our pinterest board “Indoor Activities for Kids” for more fun ideas to keep kids busy during those rainy days!  (www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/)

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

Valentine’s Day: Non-Candy Valentine Ideas!

Valentine’s Day is all about love…and sugar.  I have been searching high and low for some great ideas for my 2.5 year old daughter’s preschool Valentine’s Day party. Because I am a bit of a health nut, I wanted to give out a fun and creative non-candy Valentine. My goal was to make something that would be used and not tossed into the toy bin. Here are some great options for those parents looking for an alternative to candy.

The Valentine Pencil – Perfect for Art Projects!

Bubbletines! What kiddo (and adult) doesn’t love bubbles?

Sip your milk with this Valentine loopy straw!

Watercolor Valentines! Inspire your Valentine to paint a picture!

Be sure to check out our Valentine’s Day Pinterest Board for more non-candy Valentine ideas, Valentine’s Day art projects and Valentine themed games. (www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/)

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

How to Make Your New Years Resolutions Really Stick This Year!

Happy New Year! It has been a week since the New Year, and I have found the following tips to be extremely helpful to reach my New Years resolutions.

Make Smart Goals: When determining my goals for the New Year, I set my sights on a goal that is specific, measurable and attainable.

Utilizing My Smart Phone: I use my smart phone to keep track of my workouts. I love the app MotionX-24/7 for the iPhone. It keeps track of steps I’ve taken, calories burned, sleep quality and duration, and heart rate. This app can also be programmed with my specific goals. It will keep track of my progress and show me what percent of my daily goal I have reached.

Making it Social: I love spending time with my friends. We share our goals with each other and hold each other accountable. I am much more inclined to keep to my goals when I talk about them with friends. 

Committing to Me Time: On those days where I want to quit, I find a little less distraction helps me reach my goal. Finding a local drop-off daycare, like our Blossoming Buds Cottage, allows for some “me time.” This gives me time to revisit my resolutions and re-focus my efforts for continued success.

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

Homemade Gift Ideas!

I love doing crafts with my little one and the holiday season is the perfect time for making special crafts to be given as gifts! I believe that it’s important to give my little one the opportunity to give presents she has helped create. During the holidays we make a homemade gift to give to our family members. Here are a few gifts we’ve made.

Make a Treat: Holiday cookies, fudge, or even peppermint bark. Let your little one choose which treat to make and have him or her help cerate these yummy treats.

Homemade Soap: You can find lots of recipes for making homemade soap online. This one from Baby Center is a favorite of mine. Use a small reindeer or a little Christmas tree to put in each soap!

Cloth Napkins: Use white linen napkins for your kiddo to stamp a cute winter shape or holiday symbol with fabric paint!

Cookie or Brownie Mix in a Jar: Kids can help measure out dry ingredients and pour them into the jar. Then tie a cute ribbon around the jar and a piece of paper with the rest of the ingredients and cooking directions.  I like to let my little one decorate the tag. Allrecipes has some great recipe ideas for “Cookie Mix in a Jar”!

Check out our Pinterest Holiday Fun board for more homemade gift ideas and other ways to get inspired to create this holiday season! (http://www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/holiday-fun/)

Happy gift giving! We wish you a very happy holiday and a wonderful New Year!

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

3 Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season!

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. I love the hustle and bustle, the magic of Christmas, and celebrating with family and friends. 

I feel so blessed for my life. But I know there are those who are less fortunate. So many families struggle, especially during this time of year, to put enough food on the table and can’t afford new toys or clothes. It is important to me that I teach my little one about giving back. I want her to grow up knowing there are other families who need help. 

Here are a few ideas of how to give back this holiday season:

Send a card:  If your little one likes to draw or paint, have him/her make a holiday card to send to a local hospital or contact the Holiday Mail for Heroes program to mail cards to troops overseas. What a difference a simple homemade card can make.  Check out our pinterest Christmas Fun board for other homemade card ideas! (www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds)

Donate toys, food or clothes: Check out these organizations that have holiday drives. Toys for Tots ( http://www.toysfortots.org/), Northwest Harvest (http://www.northwestharvest.org/donate), and WestSide Baby (http://www.westsidebaby.org/).  Or maybe consider making a donation to Children’s Hospital or the Salvation Army.  Each year Blossoming Buds Preschool and Blossoming Buds Cottage join Sleep Country to collect toys for their Secret Santa Toy Drive for Foster Kids: http://www.sleepcountry.com/local-foster-kids.aspx.

Give your time: If money is tight this year, it’s always a wonderful idea to donate your time by visiting nursing homes or helping out at a local food bank such as this one: (http://www.udistrictfoodbank.org/involved/). Sometimes lending a helping hand is most valuable during the holidays.

Wishing you very happy holidays!

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

5 Tips for a Safe Halloween

I love fall, the leaves are changing, the weather is getting cooler, and the air is crisp, which means it is almost the holiday season and Halloween is first on the calendar. Preparing for Halloween is so much fun; choosing a Halloween costume, pumpkin crafts and decorations, carving pumpkins, and harvest parties. I love to look at pinterest for new ideas. Check out our Halloween Pinterest board for some inspiration this Halloween. (www.pinterest.com/blossomingbuds)

However my favorite part of Halloween is taking my little one trick-or-treating. Here are five tips to keep little ones safe while trick-or-treating!

1. Parents should always go trick-or-treating with kids and walk them all the way to the door.

    2.   Inspect all the candy and don’t let children eat anything that is open or unwrapped.

3. Trick-or-Treat in familiar neighborhoods. One of our favorite Seattle spots for Trick-or-Treating is the Wedgewood Neighborhood’s Business Trick-or-Treat along 35^th Avenue NE from 4pm-6pm on October 31^st! Be sure to stop into Blossoming Buds Cottage for a treat too!

4. While out trick-or-treating, attach glow sticks to costumes to keep kids visible and have them hold a flashlight. Glow sticks are available at most Dollar Stores; they make great additions to most costumes. 

5. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure he or she is able to clearly see by making the eye holes bigger or substitute a mask with face paint.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.

Back to School Lunch Ideas

It’s almost that time of the year: Back to School! Lots of exciting changes; the first day of school, meeting new teachers, making new friends, kids heading off to kindergarten for the first time, and even reuniting with friends from the previous year.

It also means that it’s time to start packing lunches for school. Initially packing school lunch is not a tedious task, but rather a welcome change from a summer of picnics and snacks.  However, once parent’s creative ideas of what to pack for lunch wears off, the rut hits and PB&Js windup in every sack. 

One thing I do to ensure the rut doesn’t hit our lunch sacks it to plan in advance. I find it is easier to be creative when I plan and match lunch ideas specific to what fruits and veggies are in season. For example, I love using squash during the fall! One of my favorite things to make is butternut squash soup, which is delicious warm or cold.

I also use Pinterest to gather ideas. One of my favorite Web sites is Bento For My Girls. This mom shares her over 400 lunch ideas. Her lunch ideas look enticing and she focuses on keeping the lunch healthy. Check out some of her lunch inspired ideas http://pinterest.com/pin/375206212676324739/.

Sandwiches are a great option, but when they are packed everyday, your kids are bound to be board. Check out our Back to School Pinterest board for some sandwich alternatives for your child’s lunch including meatloaf cupcakes!

http://pinterest.com/blossomingbuds/back-to-school/

Happy lunch packing!

To learn more about one of Seattle’s best preschools and drop-off childcare programs visit www.blossomingbudspreschool.com and www.blossomingbudscottage.com.